Loose leaf notebook binder



April 25, 1967 D. H, BACHMAN LOOSE LEAF NOTEBOOK BINDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, 1965 INVENTOR.

AT-rolzmay m H M B H w v 4 D April 1967 D. H. BACHMAN LOOSE LEAF NOTEBOOK BINDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Filed Feb. 5, 1965 I max 12 3o INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent This invention relates to a loose leaf notebook binder and more particularly to a binder for loose leaf papers in which the cover of the binder can be placed against both sides of the paper to take up minimum space.

Present types of hard cover binders utilize three rigid metal rings mounted on a rigid metal back strip and the back strip requires a fixed storage space regardless of the number of pages in the binder. Also, some present types of file folders utilize metal straps which are pressed down against the paper so that the file thickness is only slightly greater than the thickness of the papers. However, it is difficult to view the full area of papers in these file folders when the inner pages are exposed. Also, since the clips present a knife edge to the openings in the papers, the papers tear out easily.

The present invention utilizes flexible rings which replace the rigid metal rings of prior notebook binders and the length of the rings passing through the paper between the cover members is made adjustable by use of clamps attached to the cover members. Therefore, file space can be saved since the cover members can be held tight against the outside papers and the binder takes up only the space consumed by the papers and cover members. Also, the flexible rings can be rotated and opened at any point in order to remove or add papers at any location between the covers. The flexible rings present a large area to the holes in the paper so that the paper will not easily pull out as happens with the metal straps of present file folders. Since the covers open as a book, the papers at any selected location can be fully observed.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a notebook binder which opens as a book and which consumes only the space taken up by the thickness of the loose leaf papers and cover members.

Another object of the invention is to provide a notebook binder which utilizes flexible rings to hold the papers, the ring length between the clamps being adjustable to place the cover members adjacent the loose leaf papers in the binder.

Another object of the invention is to provide a notebook binder from which loose leaf papers can be removed or to which loose leaf papers can be added without disturbing other papers and the thickness of the binder is proportional only to the number of pages in the binder.

These and other objects of the invention not specifically set forth above will become readily apparent from the accompanying description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the open notebook binder containing loose leaf papers which are cut away at the bottom inside covers to show a flexible ring and clips therefor;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the bottom ring and clips shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 illustrating a pair of clips in closed position for securing a flexible ring;

FIGURE 3a is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 3 with the clips in open position to permit movement of the ring;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section along line 44 of FIGURE 1 showing the clip construction and three of the flexible rings;

3,315,682 Patented Apr. 25, 1967 FIGURE 5 is a vertical section along line 55 of FIGURE 1 showing the mounting bars covered by the cover members;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view partly in section along line 6-6 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view along line 77 of FIG- URE 3a;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view partly in section of the upper mounting bar and clip in FIGURE 2 with the flexible ring removed;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a flexible ring in fully open position and showing the attachment means;

FIGURE 10 is an end elevational view of a closed notebook binder containing relatively few loose leaf papers;

FIGURE 11 is an end elevational view similar to FIG- URE 10 showing a closed notebook binder containing a relatively large number of loose leaf papers;

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view of a modified mounting bar attached to one cover which permits movement of the ring and has no ring securing means;

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view of a modified clip which is normally sprung into the closed position.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration, the notebook binder 10 consists of front and back cover members 11 and 12 between which are contained a plurality of loose leaf papers 13. The inside edge of cover member 11 is folded around a mounting bar 14 and folded edge 11a is glued to member 11 in order to secure the mounting bar along the inside edge (see FIGURE 5). In a similar manner, the inside edge of cover member 12 is folded around a mounting bar 15. The top folded edge portion 11b of cover member 11 is cut away at three spaced locations 16 at which ring clips 17 are located and top folded edge portion 12b of cover member 12 is cut away at three spaced locations 18 at which ring clips 19 are located.

Each clip 17 comprises a metal plate folded around bar 14 with lower side 17a secured to bar 14 by means of spaced lugs 20 which are punched out of bar 14. In attaching each clip, the lugs are bent outwardly so that side 17a can 'be placed flat against bar 14 between the lugs and the lugs are then bent over on the clip to hold side 17a. The end of side 17a is bent around the edge of bar 14 to form a hook 17b and the end of the upper side 170 can be snapped underneath the hook to hold the upper side 17c in ring locking position. A ring 24 passes through an opening 25 in upper side 17c and along a slot 26 in bar 14 and then through opening 27 in the hook end 17b. When the clip 17 is in closed position, as illustrated in FIGURE 3, a portion of the ring is clamped between the upper and lower sides 17a, 17c of the clip.

As illustrated in FIGURE 3a, clip 17 is opened by pushing back on hook end 17b in order to release the upper side 17c which is sprung upward from the lower side 17a so that it moves to release the ring 24 for movement g through the clip.

Similarly, each clip 19 comprises a metal plate folded around bar 15 with lower side 19a secured to the bar by means of spaced lugs 30 which are punched out of bar 15. In order to attach each clip, the lugs 30 are bent outwardly so that side 19a can be placed flat against bar 15 between the lugs and the lugs are then bent over the clip. The end of side 19a is bent around the edge of bar 15 to form a hook 19b and the end of upper side can be snapped underneath the hook to hold the upper side 190 in ring locking position. The ring 24 passes through an opening 31 in upper side 19c and along a slit 32 in bar 15 and then through opening 33 in the hook end 19c. When the clip 19 is in closed position as illustrated in FIGURE 3, a portion of ring 24 is clamped between the 3 upper and lower sides 19a, 190 of the clip. As illustrated in FIGURE 31:, clip 19 is opened by pushing back on hook end 1% in order to release the upper side 190 which is sprung upwardly from the lower side 19a so that it moves to release ring 24 for movement through the clip.

While the clips 17 and 19 are similar in construction, the clip 19 can be provided with additional means for positioning the ring 24. As illustrated in FIGURE 9, each ring 24 comprises a thin strap of flexible material, such as plastic or leather, which has a raised knob 35 at one end and a slit 36 in the other end to snugly receive the knob and retain the ring in closed position. In order to locate the knobs 35 always in the same reference position when the rings are closed, a tab 40 is punched slightly downward out of the lower side 19a and contains a recess 41. After a ring has been closed and while the clamps 17 and 19 are in the open position (see FIGURE 3a), the ring can be rotated until the knob 35 abuts the edge of recess 41 in tab 40 and thereafter the upper sides 17a and 19a can be snapped closed to hold the ring 24 (see FIGURE 3). The tab 40 and recess 41 provide sufficient space in clips 19 for each knob 35 so that the location of the knob is always known when the notebook binder is closed.

When it is desired to remove or add loose leaf pages 13 to the binder, the first step is to unsnap clips 17 and 19 on both sides by pushing down and outwardly on hook ends 17b and 19b, respectively while the notebook is closed. This permits sides 17c and 190 to spring upwardly and release the fiexible rings 24. The upper cover is then rotated to the position shown in FIGURE 3a. The binder and loose leaf papers are then opened to the place where the paper is to be removed or inserted and the rings can then be rotated until the knob 35 is located at this place. The rings are then separated to permit removal or addition of papers and thereafter the rings are again fastened together and rotated until the knobs 35 assume their stored position in recesses 41. The right hand pile is then pressed downwardly at the location of clips 19 in order to close the clips 19 and lock the rings in this position. The upper cover is rotated back to original position and secured by pressing down on the book in the vicinity of each upper clip 17. Before closing clips 17, tension is applied outwardly on the rings to have minimum ring length between the clips. By placing the knobs 35 back in original position, they do not interfere with the paper and permit minimum separation of the cover members.

As illustrated in FIGURES and 11, the length of portions 24a of rings 24 between the clips 17 and 19 is adjusted before the clips are closed by pulling on the portions 24b extending beyond the end of the binder. In FIGURE 10, a relatively few loose leaf papers 13 are between the covers and the length of portions 24b considerably exceeds that of the portion 24a. The length of portions 24a is selected to be about equal to the thickness of the loose leaf papers so that the binder takes up minimum file space. In FIGURE 11, a relatively large number of loose leaf papers are located between the cover members and the portions 24a and 24b of rings 24 are about the same length. Since the portions 24b project rings beyond the end of the binder, they provide pull strings for removing the binders when stored on edge in a file. It is understood that the rings in FIGURES 2, 3 and 3a will be pulled through clips 17 to provide the proper ring length between the cover members before the binder is closed.

In FIGURE 12, there is shown a modified mounting bar 14 which is attachable to the cover 11 and contains slits 50 and 51 which are wide enough to receive the ring 24. The slits are enlarged by pressing out portion 52 between two slits. The mounting bar 14 can replace the bar 14 and clips 17 on cover 11 while the mounting bar and the clips 19 are used on the opposite cover 12. The lits 50 and 51 permit ready movement of the ring 24 therethrough to adjust the length of the ring between the covers, but the slits do not provide for clamping of the ring.

In FIGURE 13, a modified clip 60 is illustrated which is similar to the clips 17 and 19 except that the upper side 61 is sprung downwardly toward the side 62 and the bent end 63 is moved outwardly so that the upper side 61 can be lifted up. The end 63 is then released to hold the upper side 61 away from the side 62 so that the ring can move through suitable openings, such as shown in the clips 17 and 19. Thus, the clip 60 normally assumes the closed position and is held in the open position, which is the reverse of clips 17 and 19.

By the present invention there is provided a notebook binder which opens as a book to any selected location and the material is fully visible. Since the length of the rings between the cover members can be varied, the binder will be only about as thick as the contents plus thecover members. The cover members can be either rigid or flexible and can be secured to the clip mounting bars in any suitable fashion or, made integral with the bars. Further, various types of clips can be attached in various ways to the mounting bars or suitable clips can be attached directly to the cover members rather than to mounting bars. Different size rings can be used if external portion is too long or too short. Also, various types of connections for securing the rings could be utilized in place of the illustrated clip connections. Various other modifications are contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A loose leaf notebook binder comprising:

cover means;

clip means attached to said cover means;

a binder ring passing through and adjustable in its circumferential direction relative to said clip means;

said ring having ends which are separable to condition said ring for receiving and discharging perforated loose leaf pages;

coupling means releasably joining said ring ends;

said clip means including clamping means for releasably clamping said ring against circumferential movement through said clip means in a fixed position wherein said pages may be moved about said ring without encountering said ring ends, said ring being circumferentially adjustable through said clip means when said ring clamping means are released, thereby to permit removal and insertion of any page without removal of the remaining pages; and

said clip means having a recess to receive said ring coupling means when said ring occupies said fixed position.

2. A loose leaf notebook binder comprising:

a pair of separate cover members having adjacent edges;

mounting bars attached to said cover members along said adjacent edges, respectively;

a plurality of clips arranged in pairs along said adjacent edges of said cover members, each clip pair including aligned clips on said cover members, respectively;

binder rings passing through and adjustable in their circumferential direction relative to said pairs of clips respectively;

said rings having ends which are separable to condition said rings for addition and removal of perforated loose leaf pages;

said clips including holding means for releasably holding said rings against circumferential movement through their respective clips in positions wherein said pages maye be moved about said rings without encountering said ring ends, said rings being circumferentially adjustable through their respective clips when said holding means are released, thereby to permit removal and insertion of any page without removal of the remaining pages when said cover members are open and adjustment of the length of the ring portions passing through said loose leaf pages to provide for minimum thickness of the binder when said cover members are closed; and each of the said clips comprising a spring metal strip folded around the adjacent mounting bar and having a hook end for engaging and holding the other end of said strip when the respective clip .is closed, said hook end being movable to disengage said other strip end upon application of a clip opening force, said hook end and said other end of each clip constituting said ring holding means of the respective clip and having openings receiving the corresponding binder ring in such a way that each ring is released for circumferential movement through its clip when the clip ends are disengaged and each ring is held against circumferential movement through its clip when the clip ends are engaged. 3. A notebook binder as defined in claim 2 wherein each of said clips has an upper side above and a lower side below its respective mounting bar, said hook end of each clip being integral with the respective lower clip 25 side and located at one edge of the corresponding mounting bar, and said upper side of each clip extending across when the latter is closed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 826,460 7/1906 Wirt 129-41 836,956 12/1906 Ziegler 12 941 X 930,783 8/ 1909 McMillan. 1,163,766 12/1915 Morden 12-91 1,574,774 3/1926 Wigginton 12941 3,073,315 1/1963 Schade 129-41 FOREIGN PATENTS 682,620 3/1964 Canada. 1,242,106 8/ 1960 France.

101,005 8/1916 Great Britain.

JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner. 

1. A LOOSE LEAF NOTEBOOK BINDER COMPRISING: COVER MEANS; CLIP MEANS ATTACHED TO SAID COVER MEANS; A BINDER RING PASSING THROUGH AND ADJUSTABLE IN ITS CIRCUMFERENTIAL DIRECTION RELATIVE TO SAID CLIP MEANS; SAID RING HAVING ENDS WHICH ARE SEPARABLE TO CONDITION SAID RING FOR RECEIVING AND DISCHARGING PERFORATED LOOSE LEAF PAGES; COUPLING MEANS RELEASABLY JOINING SAID RING ENDS; SAID CLIP MEANS INCLUDING CLAMPING MEANS FOR RELEASABLY CLAMPING SAID RING AGAINST CIRCUMFERENTIAL MOVEMENT THROUGH SAID CLIP MEANS IN A FIXED POSITION WHEREIN SAID PAGES MAY BE MOVED ABOUT SAID RING WITHOUT ENCOUNTERING SAID RING ENDS, SAID RING BEING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ADJUSTABLE THROUGH SAID CLIP MEANS WHEN SAID RING CLAMPING MEANS ARE RELEASED, THEREBY TO PERMIT REMOVAL AND INSERTION OF ANY PAGE WITHOUT REMOVAL OF THE REMAINING PAGES; AND SAID CLIP MEANS HAVING A RECESS TO RECEIVE SAID RING COUPLING MEANS WHEN SAID RING OCCUPIES SAID FIXED POSITION. 